Rick Braun Chat -- Journal Sentinel

[Mass Haas]

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=665517

 

Q: Jason S of NYC - Thanks for the chat Rick. Is it my imagination, or have these chats become MUCH less frequent in the 2nd half of the season? Do the JS writers look forward to them or are they just a necessary part of the job?

 

A: Rick Braun - Well, Jason, here's my best shot at an answer. I do them when asked, pretty much without fail. They're fun and interesting, but also time-consuming in a job that already is very time-consuming.

 

Huh, time-consuming? He's not even on this road trip! He gets to watch seven games, just like me! Only difference, I'm sandwiching it around a 50-hour work week, and he's, uh, on vacation, I guess -- oh no, he's not, he committed an hour to "chat"!

 

___

 

 

Q: PeaveyFury of brewerfan.net - How often do you read brewerfan.net?

 

A: Rick Braun - Counting my next time, once.

 

___

 

From my post of June 2nd:

 

I swear, Rick Braun of the Journal-Sentinel (this is the guy who searched through all the Brewer minor league rosters a month ago and couldn't understand why he couldn't find Mark Rogers' stats), should just not even attempt to field questions related to the minor leagues:

 

Q: Statler of Hurley, WI - Rick, why are the Nashville Sounds in the Pacific Coast League?

 

A: Rick Braun - The Sounds are in the PCL because basically that's the only Class AAA minor league going nowadays. There used to be the International League, the American Association and the PCL. Now it's all the PCL with old IL and AA teams in it and spread among divisions.

 

No Rick, there is an International League, and yes, the Sounds would love to be a part of it. Along with New Orleans, Memphis, Iowa, they really don't belong in the PCL, which tries to weigh the schedule so there aren't an overabundance of west coast trips.

[burniebrewer]

Rick sounds a little edgy, almost defensive at times.

 

Nice answer to Peavey's question. I suppose that crazy job doesn't allow for any 'net time.

[Brian the Automator]

Lisa, the International League is make-believe, like elves, gremlins, and Eskimos.

[Fatter than Joey]

A: Rick Braun - Mike, killer instinct, like pretty much every other major-league attribute, is learned.

 

When did killer instinct become a major league attribute? Why is our dope on a rope manager over-valuing grit and under-valuing killer instinct? Why are the sabre-dummies wasting their time trying to measure the effects of batting orders and managers, when clearly killer instinct is the 900 lb. gorilla in the room.

 

A: Rick Braun - I'd rate him as a pretty good player in a time when the team was mostly down. The problem with Jenkins is that as the team got better, his numbers didn't. Ideally, there have been a lot more chances for RBI in the last few years. His RBI total hasn't reflected that. Now this year is a different case because he hasn't been the every-day guy. But the fact that Joe Dillon is an automatic starter this week and Jenkins and Hall aren't says a lot.

 

Yep, our manager is dumb.

 

A: Rick Braun - I'd have done the same in the seventh. I'd have done the same with Braun.

 

Rick Braun = Ned Yost < Magic 8 ball

 

Q: Jim of Milwaukee - Why isn't Mike Rivera playing? all the guy does it produce! Since he has been up in 4 AB's he has 2 HR's and # RBI's.

 

A: Rick Braun - If those two ninth-inning homers were game-tying or game-winning I think Yost would be more impressed. Instead, they both still left the Brewers behind in a game they lost.

 

Try to wrap your head around this one. Apparently Yost is not impressed with Rivera's inability to change the game scenario as well as hit HRs. What a stupid statement by Braun, maybe if Rivera hit them further we would have gotten some bonus runs that would not have left us behind...

[Team Canada]

Rick Braun = Joe Morgan??

[bigredrobbo]

Q: PeaveyFury of brewerfan.net - How often do you read brewerfan.net?

 

A: Rick Braun - Counting my next time, once.

 

I can't imagine why he doesn't visit this site. The love directed at him is just overwhelming!

 

http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[endaround]

Its amazing. Somehow Jim Powell is able to have chats inbetween his innings. He must br superhuman or something. And he has to go on all the road trips!

[sheethead]

From today's print of the JS:

 

Q: I think Yost is a good enough manager, but no matter what move he makes it's the wrong one, whether taking out a starting pitcher or bringing in someone else who gives up the lead. Doesn't that say more about the players than it does about the manager?

Braun: Yes it does. Your ability to understand that is refreshing.

Q: Should the Brewers spend huge money on Francisco Cordero this off-season? Will Geoff Jenkins be back?

 

Braun: It will cost huge money to re-sign Cordero. But if you want to win it, you have to have a closer. As for Jenkins, my guess is no.

 

So you need a closer if you want to win it. Good insight. Way to field questions from people within your own plane of reasoning Rick. Unfortunately for Rick Braun, he doesn't seem to be very bright or hard working. This is evident in the minor league question he fielded above. How can a person know so little about the organization and write about it for the major local news publication? I would expect journalism of this type from a community newsletter, not the Journal Sentinel. Wait... no, I would expect that from the JS. *sigh*

 

To say he doesn't visit this site is either a lie, or an indication of how lazy he really is. How could a journalist covering the Brewers not visit this site?

[endaround]

This all goes back to the fact that the MJS sports editor, Gatry Howard, is terrible. He should be fired for Steven A Smith alone.

[Mass Haas]

My point in starting the thread is that a Brewer beat writer should be immersing himself in all news available about the organization.

 

I don't give a hoot if Braun is reading the discussion threads -- heck, he can just read his Inbox or the responses to the new Journal Sentinel blogs for fan reactions.

 

But if he's not heeding the advice of a Jim Powell, or an Adam McCalvy, both regular readers of the Minor League and Draft Coverage made available here, then he's just not doing his job.

 

Joe Dillon wasn't in major league camp. To read Braun, I can pretty much guarantee that he had never heard the name prior to his callup.

 

That may be OK for Joe Fan-Off-The-Street, but not for a beat writer.

 

And to clarify, Mark Rogers missed the entire season with a well-publicized labrum injury. There's a chance he'll appear in minor league instructional camp this month.

[jjfanec]

I read that chat last night and actually was glad he doesnt do more of them. He doesnt really question and anything Yost does and really provides no new insight to any situations. As I read the brewerfan.net question I laughed because it seemed like he was afraid to come on here because he would see how much more information people can get from here compared to the paper he writes for.

[trwi7]

Outfield -- Hart, probably Hall and probably another platoon-type situation involving maybe Gross and Dillon or maybe even LaPorta if he has a huge spring.

 

Sorry to break it to you Rick but even if LaPorta has a huge spring he won't make the roster and he sure as hell won't be platooning if he does. That makes no sense. He needs to tear up the PCL, although if there was an International League I'm sure he could tear that up too.http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/wink.gif

[rluzinski]

It sounds like Bruan has only a casual understanding of baseball and knows little about the team he's supposed to know, inside and out. His answers are embarrassing.

[trwi7]

Q: Patrick C. of Appleton -NOT WALKING PENCE TO LOAD THE BASES??? This manager is clueless and really deserves to be fired.

 

A: Rick Braun -I'd have hoped for a better option than someone who's struggling badly in the 10th. But with a guy struggling as my option, I would not have walked the bases loaded and hoped he could throw strikes. A double play with first and third is as good as a double play with the bases loaded.

 

So he doesn't really understand why it would be a good idea to load the bases there? Wow, can he go back to covering the Packers and the JS just hire one of us to fill his spot?

[bucks2281]

Not only does he not display a great knowledge of the game of baseball, but his tone was incredibly surley. Please, Rick, go back to covering the Packers, and stay away from the Brewers.

[don1481]

Between that chat and The Prince of Darkness' "blog response" today on JSOnline, wow. Just... wow.

 

Here I was initially optimistic that Braun would be an influence on TH, but it turns out that TH has created TH Lite out of him.

[RightFieldCoder]

This would be my question. I could probably cover the Brewers just as well or better while doing my other job. So why doesn't the MJS give one of us a stab at writing? Too afraid we might actually say something negative about somebody on the team?

[trwi7]

http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2007/09/21/when-the-moves-work-the-manager-is-a-genius.aspx#comments

 

On a semi-related note. Some of the posters on the blog are just laying into Haudricourt and I can't say I haven't laughed a couple times reading what they've written.http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

Edit: Forgot to add that I don't know how Tom has the time to do all these postings in the blog when covering the Brewers is so demanding.http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/happy.gif

[gregmag]

Maybe they hired Braun to make Haudricourt look better. Both are petulant as hell, but Rick does make Tom's basic baseball literacy look like more of a gift than it is.

 

It's amazing what a lack of competition will produce. Consolidation of media and media ownership, my friends -- one of the most overlooked important issues of our time.

 

On another topic, just out of curiosity -- didn't we have a dust-up a couple of years back where the BF.net powers that be objected to someone's identifiying himself in a JS chat as "of brewerfan.net"? My memory is dim, but I know the person in the incident I'm recalling wrote something really obnoxious, which was why it came up then.

 

Greg.

[Cracked Bat Collector]

My favorite post on that blog haha: "NedBoosterNOT and Joe29 are dead right. Tom, you've just been schooled by a bunch of non-journalist blog commenters." As for the minor league answer about Nashville and the PCL that's downright embarrassing.

[rluzinski]

So he doesn't really understand why it would be a good idea to load the bases there? Wow, can he go back to covering the Packers and the JS just hire one of us to fill his spot?

 

Generally speaking, I don't think setting up the force at home is worth the possibility of a walk losing the game (not considering the the actual batters involved).

[trwi7]

So he doesn't really understand why it would be a good idea to load the bases there? Wow, can he go back to covering the Packers and the JS just hire one of us to fill his spot?

 

Generally speaking, I don't think setting up the force at home is worth the possibility of a walk losing the game (not considering the the actual batters involved).

 

Okay I could agree with that but look what happens if there's a slow roller along the 3rd base line? That's my thinking, of course I never would've had Wise in the game at that time so I likely wouldn't have had to deal with that situation.http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/smile.gif

[joeyhepatitis]

So he doesn't really understand why it would be a good idea to load the bases there? Wow, can he go back to covering the Packers and the JS just hire one of us to fill his spot?

 

Generally speaking, I don't think setting up the force at home is worth the possibility of a walk losing the game (not considering the the actual batters involved).

 

You have to have faith in your pitcher in that situation to get the ball over the plate. Give the team the best chance on making a play at home rather than dictating strategy by thinking your team is going to fail.